THE LAST SAMURAI - MOVIE REACTION - FIRST TIME WATCHING 

If you were curious, the Samurai that he referred to as "Bob" was ordered to protect him the entire time. As they said when he showed up "you cannot escape". Bob was actually following him around to make sure nobody else in the village tried to hurt or kill him out of vengeance. So when he takes the bullet for him, he was simply doing what Katsumoto told him to do; protect Algren. He followed his orders to the death. As they say, Samurai means "to serve", and that is exactly what Bob did.

This is truly one of the greatest films I’ve seen. The music, directing, acting, cinematography… great. Katsumoto’s last line “Perfect… They’re all perfect” ALWAYS gets me, no matter how many times I watch.

"If your shame is too unbearable..." is such a good line.

This emotions in this movie decidedly creep up on people, it's a testament to the film makers how impactful the movie is. Not just the end, but consistently throughout it. Loved the reaction, Addie!

I think it's my favorite tom cruise movie. His acting is sublime in it. The casting overall amazing. Camera, lighting and music top notch. And its a wonderful story too.

My favorite scene is when Ujio keeps beating up Nathan in the rain because he wouldn't drop the wooden sword. Everyone watching including Taka and Koyamada was seeing the resolve of Nathan's character and they were internally satisfied that this was the type of man able to defeat Hirotaro, Taka's husband.

Katsumoto at the beginning: " The perfect blossom is a rare thing. You could spend your life looking for one, and it would not be a wasted life." Katsumoto seeing the blossoms at the end: "Perfect. They are all perfect."

The ending gets me everytime, I was honestly tearing up a bit throughout this video because of how sad this movie really is.

When I saw this pop-up, I was just like, "Hope Addie had tissues handy." I've watched this dozens of times; never fails to break me the entire second half of the movie. Beautifully written, acted, and directed film with one of my favorite film scores of all time that just adds to the emotion of every scene.

The end of the final battle is - and always will be - both beautiful and heart-wrenching.

I absolutely love the way the cherry blossoms come full circle. The very first words Katsumoto speaks to Algren are "The perfect blossom is a rare thing. You could spend your whole life searching for one and it would not be a wasted life." and then the final words he speaks to him are, as the realization dawns on him, "Perfect... they are all perfect" A wonderful callback that Ken Watanabe absolutely nails. The many historical inaccuracies aside this movie is still easily within my top 5 and without a doubt my favorite Tom Cruise movie, the second being Interview with a Vampire which you should also check out if you haven't. That one also has a tiny Kyrsten Dunst doing a stellar job for a child actor. Side note, this movie is based very loosely on the Satsuma rebellion that followed the Meiji Restoration; Omura is based on one of the Three Great Nobles who fought to restore the Emperor to power and overthrow the Tokugawa Shogunate, a Samurai named Okubo Toshimichi, and Katsumoto is based on another of the Three Great Nobles named Saigo Takamori. Believe it or not they were actually allies during that time but they had very different visions on what Japan should become after and if it makes you feel any better Omura's real life counterpart got assassinated in the street by seven former Samurai for his perceived betrayal of the the Satsuma Samurai following this rebellion(Okubo was also from Satsuma) so there's that at least.

Nobutada going out like a warrior always get to me. He gave his life up so his father could keep the rebellion going. Dying for something bigger than himself.

One of my all time favourite films. I'm pretty sure it was the first film to make me cry as well. Literally the perfect film in my eyes.

Hiroyuki Sanada is a very underrated actor as well. Played a good villain in Rush Hour 3. Also was hilarious in Bullet Train (2022). 😂

This movie is a masterpiece in my eyes. It has a great cast who do a terrific job. The location/cinematography, the music and overall background sounds, the pacing, everything just makes this movie flow so well. And boy is this movie emotional as hell. It's a deep movie and more about holding on to the past than it is a war movie. I love this movie.

This movie is a classic, it will be one of the 'greats' years to come. My favorite scene is during the battle when Ujio charges in on his horse, gets dismounted and then proceeds to dispatch several enemies in the span of seconds. The amount of inspirational badassery from that character alone is enormous.

If this movie came out in the last decade, it would have won Best Picture almost any year. It's truly one that you can watch over and over and over. Just a masterpiece. I think it's Tom Cruise's best performance, beyond Jerry Maguire, Magnolia, Rain Man, Top Gun, etc.

For me this one is definitely the best Tom Cruise movie, one of my favourite of all time, and also one of my favourite movie scores from Hans Zimmer!! So underrated, its so filled with emotions and goes so well with the movie

Words can never describe how much I love this movie and the Japanese culture. I spent quite a bit of time while in the Navy in Japan and fell in love with everything about it. They have a truly fascinating and beautiful culture. Not to mention all the history and traditions that go back thousands of years.

This is one of my absolute favorite movies. I've always loved Japanese culture and this just cemented it even more. It's is an amazingly moving work of art on every level. And yeah, the music is breathtaking. Hans Zimmer is the man.

A friend made a neat observation about this movie when it came out. It honors the traditions of both American and Japanese movies of the time, especially action movies. The Japanese main characters all had good deaths, while the American main character survived everything.

One of my top 5 favorite movies of all time. Such a good story, such good music, I cry every time.

Such an excellent movie in so many ways.

This is one of my moms favourite movies, I remember her watching it when I was but a wee lad and never really understood why till I got older... This movie is a masterpiece and everyone should watch it! The story, the character development, the emotional roller coaster, learning from one another and learning for yourself about others rather than believing everything you are told. Most of all the honor and respect that is developed in this movie is fantastic. This movie makes me so emotional it surprises me every time.

Perfect timing reacting to this one, as he cherry blossoms are in full bloom in Tokyo right now.

The music. The MUSIC. The best Hans Zimmer score in my opinion.

anyone who isnt at least teary eyed at the end is not human!

it's easy to forget just how good this movie is, but then you watch it again and are once again in awe

This film was beautifully made. When I saw this as a 19-year old student in Liverpool in 2003/4, I loved it immediately. Thee part that got me the most, was when Taka asked him to wear Hirotoro's armor and then held him. Am so glad you enjoyed it too Addie. If you like historical films (although this is not accurate) - I would encourage you to watch Bernardo Bertolucci's "The Last Emperor" (1987). That will blow your mind.

this movie tears at the heart strings so much. I cant put my finger why you connect so much with these characters, but you do such a great picture. glad you got to experience it. looking forward to the next one :D

That scene in the rain is one of my favorites. He demonstrated one of the tenants of Bushido: Courage. He kept getting back up and if you notice, he did better each time before getting knocked to the ground.

“Believe me, nothing except a battle lost can be half so melancholy as a battle won.” Duke of Wellington.

Best, most underrated Tom Cruise film in my oppinion. "I will tell you how he lived!" Never get's old.

30:27 Watch this scene again. That extra just got kicked by the horse and they kept going. Legend. 39:10 One of my absolute favourite lines from any film.

"I will tell you how he lived" hits me in the gut every time.

Thanks for the video Addie, I needed a good movie this morning. 😊

I love this movie, Watanabe is incredible, and Cruise is good too in this one.

"What is it about your own people that you hate so much?" First thing crossed my mind as a possible answer to this question was "Look in a mirror."

This movie hits me so hard every time.

One of the best tom cruise movies ever. The one thing a parent should never have to do is bury a child. So seeing the son sacrifice himself for the parent is an emotional one.

One of the best films ever made. Powerful and real. Hits me every time. The soundtrack is sooo good.

“Tell me. How he died” “I tell You. How he lived” I like this conversation.

"I will miss... our conversations." 😭😭😭

It's not that dying in battle is glorious,but that death in service and duty is the highest of honors for your ideals and principles.

The way Tom and Tanaka made love without making love, it's the most romantic thing I've ever seen. Good reaction. 😊

*Another GREAT TC film to watch is A Few Good Men!*

That performance by the Japanese actress Koyuki was one of the finest I've ever seen for someone who didn't have a lot of dialogue. her facial expressions were unbelievably perfect

Addie, if you like samurai stuff and animation, a REALLY underappreciated, but very well done movie is Kubo and the Two Strings. Please put that on your list!

when Last Samurai was released in theaters kept hearing that it wasn’t that good, or Tom Cruise has done better, so on and so forth, but can’t understand why cause when I finally saw it I was blown away…really feel like this is one of his best films, and Ken Watanabe was a fantastic co-star as well

Heyyy, it's Billy and here are my comments. To the other followers. I'm not making fun of Addie. We're trying to see if others will start their comments "Heyyy, it's ......." This is a magnificent movie of the Samurai. The history, the dedication, the portrayal, etc. It does the story of the Samurai justice. I've seen interviews from both the cast and historians who praised it. The cinematography and the costume designs are like additional characters. Simply stunning. I look forward to whatever will be coming soon. Take care, Addie!!

Excellent reaction, Addie. Perfect timing for the film's 20th anniversary this year. I enjoyed watching this movie. It was so well done, from Hans Zimmer's soundtrack to John Toll's cinematography in Panavision (anamorphic). I even own this movie on DVD in Widescreen (2.39:1) format, which is how I watched it. Seeing Nathan Algren bond with the children and Taka was very sweet and the deaths of Katsumoto and his son Nobutada were heartbreaking. BTW, I also enjoyed seeing Ollie appear in this video because it reminds me of when Titus used to hop onto the bed in the background in your earlier videos and offer you his feedback.

This story has been told in other movies in different contexts, in Dances with Wolves, Pocahontas and Avatar, it's basically the same story, a soldier begins to meet his enemy and falls in love with his people and their culture, in such a way that he turns against his own army. It's obviously an attractive story because people like it.

I must have seen this movie 20 or 30 times... I still cry like a baby for half the movie EVERY time

This is how to do a historically inspired movie. It does a fantastic job respecting history while also adding some Hollywood to it.

The scene where the army kneels in respect gets me every time.

Great review as always, this one gets me every time also. The dying in battle being an honor part still exists today.

This movie does the unthinkable. It takes its time and never rushes anything. Easily top 5 movies of all time, with LOTR taking 3 of the other spots.

2 other movies I highly recommend if you have not seen them yet: Little Big Man (1974) with a very young Dustin Hoffman, and Dances With Wolves (1990) with Kevin Costner.

You had a perfect reaction to this, Addie. I saw this in theatre when it released. I cried. Pick up the soundtrack, you will not regret it. Thank you for this.

I love this movie so much and I find myself watching it over and over again because of how well done it was. It is so beautiful and yet so sad all in one and the line 'they are all perfectl' that was said in the end about the flowers is one that sticks with me even to this day because it's so beautiful in it's meaning. I love Timothy spall here as well but then again he's just a talented actor so no surprise there. The Semurai were nobal people who fought for their king and what the ex semurai was doing is dying with honor because he discraced his oath and lost his honor in the eyes of the Semurai. it's called Hara-Kiri and it is when the Semurai takes his own life with his dagger and then his head is cut off by a fellow Semurai warrior to resore his honor in a way. I love how they show that Tom's character 'sees' his enemy's moves before they make it and reacts accordingly by the different options and the best way to get out of it alive. The love story was also beautiful to me and in the end all those deaths were not for nothing. Lovely reaction as always and I am glad you liked the movie.

It's actually based around a true event. Tom Cruise's character is based upon a Frenchman who joined up with the Samurai.

Remember that they said that the Japanese general was also a Samurai? He was dishonored because of the use of firearms and because he lost the battle as well, so the only way to recover his honor was to perform the ritual suicide. It's called Seppuku*: the Samurai cuts his belly open to prove that he deserves his honor back. An assistant Samurai immediately cuts his head off in order to prevent that the dying one makes any noises of pain, and it was considered a highly honorable duty to do that. * You may have heard about this ritual as hara-kiri, but that expression is only used by Westerns.

If you want to see more Tom Cruise... there is a LOT to choose from, but I'd recommend the "Mission Impossible" series. Lots of action!

I don't think you could generally characterize Tom Cruise's movies as beautiful. This is the exception. I'm glad you listened to the suggestions. Arigatou gozaimasu, Addie, for your reaction.

I've just found your channel through the last of us and I'm loving your reactions. This is my tie for number 1 movie ever made and I'm so glad you've seen this masterpiece. Have an awesome weekend

Many samurai transitioned just fine into the Meiji era, putting down their swords or becoming police officers or officials for the government, but the samurai that wanted to keep their power, rebelled and were not the good guys. They had power over the people and were warlords, they didn’t want to give it up. Notice the scene when they come into town and all the people are scared of them, that is not without reason, they didn’t mind killing anyone that defied them or stood in their way. This movie does romanticize the samurai and portray them quite incorrectly, but it is a great movie regardless.

Glad you got to see this one. Tom Cruise has been in so many of my favorite movies, such as: Minority Report, A Few Good Men, Collateral, and of course the Mission Impossible franchise. It's one of those times it's really rare for me to see a film of his and not like it or it be one of my favorite films as I've gone through his filmography. But this film, I think, is my favorite film he's been involved in. Edward Zwick is also someone else who rarely ever misses the mark for me, so it's just a perfect melding. Of course the story is nothing new, it's one of the main types of stories, but it's done so well and it's so rich in many other regards, it doesn't matter. Such a great film and definitely in my top 10 of all time. Hopefully you get into more of Cruise or Zwick's filmography.

If you want to convince a soldier not to fear death, you make him believe death in battle is a good thing. The Vikings did the same thing. And this movie uses beautiful cinematography and majestic music combined with this truly magnificent storyline to really pull the tears out of you. Truly a powerful movie.

Another excellent film from Edward Zwick. One of the most underrated directors ever. Check out Glory, Legends of the Fall and Courage Under Fire. All great films.

34:52 “‘Til the dawn they hold on, Only 40 are left at the end, None alive, none survive, Shiroyama.” - “Shiroyama” by Sabaton (Swedish metal band whose songs are inspired by true stories throughout the entire history of war and conflict). The Last Samurai is a loosely based adaptation of the last stand of the Samurai, led by Saigo Takamori (who the character of Katsumoto is based upon), at the battle of Shiroyama. As depicted in the movie, the Samurai were indeed all defeated. “Samurai” in the title is plural, the “last samurai” were the warriors who fought to the death at the end. The character of Nathan Algren is inspired by a separate story, that of French soldier Jules Brunet, who went to Japan to help modernise the Shogun army, who in the end were overthrown. When ordered to leave Japan, Brunet refused, resigned from his rank as captain and stayed to fight alongside the Shogun.

still one of my favorite filmscores of all time

I’ve seen Top Gun Maverick 49 times in theaters and I still say The Last Samurai is my Favorite Tom Cruise film.

Yes Addie, the ending is hard... Such an excellent movie and reaction ;-)

Great reaction as always. Billy Connolly doesn't stay long, but (for me at least) he adds some much needed levity to the movie.

The Last Samurai - One of the most underrated movies of Tom Cruise Its kinda funny people often associate his acting talent with the Top Gun, MI (Mission Impossible), and Jack Reacher series Look at his acting repertoire you gotta explore: Collateral (obviously his best role) Rainman (as Charlie Babbit) Magnolia (as Frank TJ Mackey) Born on the Fourth of July Interview with the Vampire Tropic Thunder ( as Les Grossman - comedy gold) Apart from the Mission Impossible series which he already produces and owns He obviously chooses his roles wisely. Remember he is one of the most regularly handsome men voted worldwide for the past 3 decades.

This movie is a masterpiece

Ahh! My favorite movie! I saw this no joke 7 times in theatre.. not that impressive because I worked there and saw it for free lol

fun fact: the kid actor is still active and has all grown up, now portraying the greatest japanese superhero as a reboot

I love this movie so much, I sob EVERY time I watch it and this was no different. The work that went into making as much of the Japanese content as accurate as possible, as respectful as possible, is amazing (even if they did still romanticise the samurai a bit too much). The entire cast are fantastic, even Tom Cruise who I'm not usually a fan of, and especially Watanabe Ken, Sanada Hiroyuki, and Nakamura Shichinosuke as Katsumoto, Ujio, and the Emperor respectively. And my favourite part of the score is towards the end when it's SOARING and so beautiful as Katsumoto, Algren, and the other survivors are charging the hill, but the moment the gatling guns start firing it just stops, and only starts to come back quietly and subtly after a few moments. It's a great musical interpretation of the wall the samurai hit.

One of the greatest films I have ever watched. Amazing score, wonderful portrayal of alcoholism brought on by trauma, and arguably Tom Cruises best performance.

Ken Watanabe (Katsumoto) absolutely owns this movie. He steals every scene he’s in. He is arguably the REAL star of this movie, not Tom Cruise, who’s actually great in it as well.

Great Movie. Great Reaction. If you want more stuff about Japan's Imperial era or basically the early years of the Meiji era, there's an iconic Japanese Anime series called Rurouni Kenshin that you must watch. It's basically set ten years after the events of this movie and it's incredible. It's got some wacky moments, but also quite dramatic and powerful throughout. The first two seasons are spectacular, and the third season is interesting as it has completely original storylines.

As a screenwriter this movie was a huge inspiration for one of my screenplays.

bobs 1st and last words was him yelling algrens name as a warning effectively saving his life.

Hans Zimmer's soundtracks are always amazing

Now you will have to watch "300" the story they talked about in the movie.

I've never watched this channel before. I got hooked in at "Strong words there." LOL

One of Tom Cruise's most underrated films.

One of my favorite movies. So powerful.

I like Tom Cruise in the first Jack Reacher film from 2012, Knight & Day from 2010, Rain Man (1988), as well as the Mission Impossible franchise. He is also pretty funny and dramatic in Edge of Tomorrow, Live, Die, and Repeat.

Solid choice May I recommend Tears of the Sun?

I have been spending my spring searching for The Perfect Cherry Blossom. Edit: It’s important to remember that real-life samurai were murderous thugs who terrorized the common people and their fall from grace was well-deserved. They were just not the romanticized warriors depicted here. I’ve always wanted a film that deconstructs this trope like “Unforgiven” did for cowboys.

Great movie casting and Hans Zimmer music was awesome

If you liked this movie I recommend the mini-series SHOGUN, with Richard Chamberlain from 1980. This movie is heavily inspired by it.

They mentioned the Battle of Thermopylae in this movie. That battle took place like 2,500 years ago. You should definitely check out the movie 300. It covers that battle and the spartan culture.

This movie came out almost 2 decades ago , but it's still just impactful as it was years ago when it was first released

Glad you enjoyed this fine movie, Addie, and thanks for sharing your reaction to it. In European cultures in past centuries, for many in the educated classes who did not serve religion, certainly to the end of the 19th Century, honour was considered more important than staying alive - or so said the tradition. Even as late as the writing of "The Charge of the Light Brigade" during the Crimean War that was the accepted viewpoint. However, that changed massively on a broad cultural level for Europeans and others during World War I. In that conflict that wiped out much of a generation of men, there was no more glory or honour in battle, only mass death. And after World War I and World War II and all the messes that have surrounded them and followed them, that has become the perspective of our culture for over 100 years. Not that the belief in personal honour was ever wholly consistent before that, but a sense of honour received at least lip service as a cultural trope. Part of the comedy of Shakespeare's "Henry IV, Part 1" comes from the 'low' comic characters, especially the fat old knight, Sir John Falstaff, being willing to sacrifice honour both for staying alive and for personal profit. And that is why Prince Hal ultimately acknowledges the need to turn away from his lying, thieving low-life friends, when he becomes the honourable prince and then the king that he was destined to be, as Henry V. And Shakespeare adaptations have been popular in Japan because there are some similarities and shared concepts in cultural and personal values between the author's representation and what exists in Japan... If you want to see another great samurai story by a Japanese auteur that demonstrates their philosophy as well as their strategic and combat skills, please consider investing the time in Akira Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai" (1954), starring Toshiro Mifune and others. Kurosawa's style drew on John Ford's Westerns, as well as Japanese film-making style. Given that Western connection for the director, it's not so surprising that "Seven Samurai" was adapted into a Hollywood Western called "The Magnificent Seven" (1960), with Yul Brenner, Steve McQueen, and Charles Bronson in an ensemble cast. Kurosawa's later movie, "Yojimbo" (1961), also starring Mifune, was adapted by Sergio Leone into the 'spaghetti Western', "A Fistful of Dollars" (1964), starring Clint Eastwood. And since I mentioned Shakespeare earlier, Kurosawa's movie, "Ran" (1985), is a striking adaptation of the tragic play, "King Lear". In case you're interested... :)

absolutely stunning movie, especially if, like me, you love the whole samurai culture...and yes, the ending gets to me every time I see it

I love this movie!!! Massive underrated, please react to edge of tomorrow soon.

i cannot watch this movie without coming to tears